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A large and detailed late 18th century map of Asia, printed over four sheets. There are labels noting the inhabitants of some areas, such as 'BIAYOS or the inland People' in the centre of Borneo.

A piece of paper printed with a list of the various regions of Asia, including the regions of Southeast Asia, has been adhered to the right-hand side of this late 18th century map of Asia.

In the 18th century, European maps tended to use their own country’s meridian, so on this French map of Southeast Asia longitude is measured from the Paris Meridian. Eleven different scales are also shown.

The arrows on this map mark the direction of the seasonal monsoons experienced in the South China Sea and Philippine Sea during the late 18th century. Each arrow has a label indicating the month.

This map of Asia has coloured borders around mainland Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the Sunda Islands (‘Isles de la Sonde’) and the Maluku Islands (‘Isles Moluques’). The cartouche features a drawing of a sailing ship and boxes of goods.

From the first volume of John Seally’s ‘A Complete Geographical Dictionary’, this map of Asia includes the ancient kingdoms of mainland Southeast Asia, and the Sunda and Molucca islands (‘Molucca or Spice Islands’) of maritime Southeast Asia.

Coloured borders divide this late 18th century map of Asia into empires, kingdoms and regions. Five major rivers that flow south through mainland Southeast Asia are named: Aua, Pegu, Tenasserim, Menan and Camboya.

A late 18th century map of maritime Southeast Asia by the French geographer Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703–1772). The title refers to the ‘Stretto della Sonda’ (Sunda Strait), the strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java.

A 19th century map concentrating on Southeast Asia and India. The island of Borneo is annotated with the text 'The Inland Part of this Island is inhabited by the Biayos a savage People'.

This map of the Straits of Malacca features shoals and reefs, bathymetry (sea depth), drawings of side views of landmark mountains (elevations), all designed to aid navigation. The various straits used around Singapore are also marked.

On this map of Asia, Borneo is labelled ‘The Inland Part of this Island is inhabited by the Biayos a savage People’, a description seen on many contemporary maps. The ancient kingdoms of mainland Southeast Asia are also shown.

The cartouche on this map of Asia features an Asian man smoking a long pipe, surrounded by packages, vases, a bow and arrow, a censer (incense burner) and a camel carrying a large load. The second sheet of the map features Southeast Asia.